My Collection: Phosco P350/4

This lantern is perhaps one of the rarest ones in the collection yet. This is the only known surviving example as of 10/2024, but there must be more out there somewhere! They were sort-of-like a Mk.1 P111, being able to run 80W-125W MBF/U, 50W-150W SON-T/E, 35W SOX or 26W SOX-E. This type is believed to be a P350/4, which doesn't actually appear on the catalogues (although the P350/3 and P350/5 do). 125W ES versions are absent, but the 125W BC version isn't: listed as the P350/3. To make this whole situation even-stranger, this example is in astonishing condition on the inside, and doesn't appear to have been run very much.

The spigot differs from the later-P111, being octagonal in shape, with four grub-screws instead of three. All four are missing from this example but this left ample room for a cable to be installed.

Embedded into the top-canopy are the remains of an unidentified photocell.

The underside reveals that most of the cell is missing...

...but the rest of the cell was found in the lantern's base. The cell is dated to May 1989, two years younger than the rest of the lantern.

Opening this lantern requires an unusual motion not-shared by many other post-tops. Twisting and pulling on the top-canopy releases the canopy, decorative acorn and bowl all as one unit. The gear and lamp are all in the base. It's for this reason that the lantern is incredibly base-heavy.

I installed an 80W MBF/U lamp, which is 45W lower than the choke is meant for. This should be okay for a few runs, but will damage the lamp if run too long in this fixture.

The HIC (10μF) capacitor is dated to early 1987.

Another interesting thing to note: the P350's stickers are part-hand-written. This could mean all (or most) stickers for Phosco's post-tops at the time had the model and wattage hand-written before they were finally assembled. My P111 had the remains of a hand-written sticker too.

The gear-tray shares a similar rotation-lock to the bowl and canopy. This time it involves loosening two screws to release the tray.

This unveils where the choke has been hiding! I was shocked at how clean this area was when I first opened it, Not a speck of rust on that choke! C87 refers to March of 1987.

The lantern was fired up with it's 80W MBF/U lamp until I can find a 125W ES MBF/U lamp.